Cheese and quackers - A decade of films - 1951
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Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
I have a pretty extensive collection of Abbott and Costello. This isn't
one of the better ones, but the special effects are pretty impressive
for the time. Boxer Tommy Nelson is accused of killing his manager.
While detectives Bud and Lou investigate they come across an
invisibility formula with which Tommy injects himself rather than face
the police. This sparks an idea for trapping gangster Morgan by having
Lou fight champ Rocky Hanlon, with Tommy's invisible help.
The African Queen (1951)
If you've never seen this, you've missed one of the greatest movies ever
made. At the start of World War 1, Charlie Allnut is using his old
steamer, The African Queen, to ferry supplies to villages in East
Africa. When the Rev. Samual Sayer dies, Charlie agrees to take Sayers'
sister, Rose, back to civilization. taking on the Germans at the same time.
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Disney's version. Still brilliant. Alice becomes bored and her mind
starts to wander. She sees a white rabbit who appears to be in a hurry.
She chases it into its burrow and then a most bizarre series of
adventures begins.
Bedtime for Bonzo (1951)
Couldn't let the 50s pass without including this cheesefest. Professor
Peter Boyd's engagement to the Dean's daughter is upset by the
revelation that his father was a habitual convict. To prove the Dean's
genetic theory of inherited traits as wrong, Boyd starts a 'secret'
experiment. He borrows the science department's chimpanzee with the goal
of showing that it is one's environment that affects your reaction to
right and wrong.
Bride of the Gorilla (1951)
BIG classic cheese. Deep in the South American jungle plantation manager
Barney Chavez (Raymond Burr) kills his elderly employer in order to get
to his beautiful wife (Barbara Payton). However, an old native witch
witnesses the crime and puts a curse on Barney, who soon after finds
himself turning nightly into a rampaging gorilla. But is his
transformation real or is it all in his head?
The Browning Version (1951)
Classic study of the human condition. On the last day of term at a boys
private school, a new master arrives to familiarise himself. His
predecessor, Crocker-Harris is much hated in the school but his younger
wife seems more popular and not only with the pupils. Tensions erupt
making this a day nobody in the school will ever forget...
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951)
Swashbuckler. In 1807, unflappable Capt. Hornblower of the British Navy
is sent on a secret mission to divert Napoleon's Spanish allies by
sponsoring a megalomaniac's Central American revolution. After a hard
voyage, unexpected complications force Hornblower to revise his
plans...and play reluctant host to the beautiful sister of the Duke of
Wellington. Sea-battles, remarkable adventures, and a star-crossed
romantic interlude follow.
Captain Video, Master of the Stratosphere (1951)
One of the shows I grew up with. Planet Atoma looks dusty, and is ruled
by despot Vultura, everyone is dressed in costumes left over from a
"Buck Rogers" serial and he wants to rule the universe, starting with
Earth! Captain Video and a young man who every one calls "Ranger" take
him on. Between them they have a Gadget for every emergency and some
left over, and space flight is as easy as catching the local bus.....but
It's fun.
Chained for Life (1951)
This is soooooo bizarre and cheesy. A Siamese twin kills the husband who
left her. The courts have to decide if she is convicted of murder, how
can they punish her sister, who had nothing to do with the crime?
Starring real life siamese twins Violet and Daisy Hilton. It's not a
film you'd want to own, but one you should see at least once.
Five (1951)
No DVD or VHS, but it shows up on TV now and then. AT least that's where
I taped my copy from. Not a great movie, but damned interesting and
pulls no punches. The world is destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. Only
five Americans survive, including a pregnant woman, a neo-Nazi, a black
man and a bank clerk. The five fight each other, fall in love, and act
really depressed a lot. Quite interesting for the time.
Flight to Mars (1951)
A newspaper reporter and a bunch of scientists fly a rocket to Mars just
to find out that Martians look exactly like us. Mars is running low on
one of their natural resources (Corium), and plan to steal the Earth
astronauts' rocket and conquer Earth. The Martian underground helps the
Earthmen stop the insidious plan.
Francis Goes to the Races (1951)
The owner of a talking mule, now a horse-breeder, gets involved with
gangsters.
The Frogmen (1951)
One of the few Richard Widmark films I like. The new commander of a Navy
Underwater Demolition Team--nicknamed "Frogmen"--must earn the respect
of the men in his unit, who are still grieving over the death of their
former commander and resentful of the new one.
Go for Broke! (1951)
A story that isn't told enough. A tribute to the U.S. 442nd Regimental
Combat Team, formed in 1943 by Presidential permission with
Japanese-American volunteers. We follow the training of a platoon under
the rueful command of Lt. Mike Grayson who shares common prejudices of
the time. The 442nd serve in Italy, then France, distinguishing
themselves in skirmishes and battles; gradually and naturally, Grayson's
prejudices evaporate with dawning realization that his men are better
soldiers than he is. Not preachy.
Lost Planet Airmen
No VHS or DVD listed, but I know it's out there somewhere. My favorite
serial, from my young days. This 1951 film is a feature re-issue of the
1949 12-chapter Republic serial "King of the Rocket Men" edited down to
65 minutes, which basically means that players such as Tom Steele, David
Sharpe and Eddie Parker who had as many as four-to-five different roles
(in addition to stunt doubling) in the 12-chapter serial only pop up
here in two-three different roles but spaced closer together. Both
versions find the diabolical Dr. Vulcan (I. Stanford Jolley) causing the
deaths of Professors Drake (Dale Van Sickle in one of his five roles in
the serial version)and Millard (James Craven, chewing less scenery than
usual for him) of Science Associates, a privately-operated desert
research project. The "accidents" attract the attention of Glenda Thomas
(Mae Clarke), photographer for Miracle Science magazine. She visits the
project and is placated by publicity director Burt Winslow (House
Peters, Jr.) and project member Jeff King (Tristram Coffin.) Later, Jeff
visits a cave where he has been hiding Professor Millard, who wasn't
killed but wants it thought he was, so he and Jeff can work on a
rocket-propelled flying suit they have invented, with controls limited
to "on", "off", "up" and "down" that work very well, thank you.
Periodically, Jeff dons the suit and, as the mysterious Rocket Man
(David Sharpe doubling for Tris Coffin), frustrates countless sinister
plans (far fewer in the 65-minute version) of Dr. Vulcan to get control
of Science Associates' devices which, if in the wrong hands, i.e, Dr.
Vulcan, could easily wreak world-wide disaster. Vulcan finally gets his
hands on Professor Millard's Decimator, capable of disintegrating rock
strata, and plans to use it against New York City if the Mayor doesn't
meet his billion dollar ransom demand. The Mayor isn't having any of
that,and soon the city is rocked with an earthquake and tidal waves in
the harbor, courtesy of stock footage from Republic's 1939 "S.O.S.Tidal
Wave." Can the Rocket Man save the city?
Lost Continent (1951)
Major Joe Nolan heads a rescue mission in the South Pacific to recover a
downed atomic rocket. The crew crashlands on a mysterious island, and
spend a LOT of running time climbing rocks. They meet up with a native
girl, a big lizard, and some fake-looking dinosaurs. And they climb more
rocks. Lots and lots of rocks.
Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm (1951)
The Kettles leave their ultra modern home and return to the country
looking for uranium. Nothing radioactive shows up except Pa's
war-surplus overalls. These make car horns honk and light bulbs flash.
Ma and Tom's mother-in-law, Mrs. Parker, fight over whether their
grandchild will be raised "hygiencially".
The Man from Planet X (1951)
It's weird. To study a rogue planet heading for a near-miss with Earth,
Prof. Elliot sets up an observatory on the foggy moors of a remote
Scottish island, with his pretty daughter and Dr. Mears, a former
student with a shady past. Soon after arrival of reporter John Lawrence,
a ship from Planet X just happens to land near the observatory. Is the
visitor (who actually looks alien) benevolent? What are Mears' real
motives for trying to communicate with it?
Old Mother Riley's Jungle Treasure (1951) aka Jungle Treasure
Old Mother Riley runs into a ghost who turns out to be an old pirate
searching for buried treasure.
Rhubarb (1951)
No DVD or VHS listed, which is sad. I remember this as a very sweet
little movie. Rich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes
an affectionate pet. Then T.J. dies, leaving to Rhubarb most of his
money and a pro baseball team, the Brooklyn Loons. When the team
protests, publicist Eric Yeager convinces them Rhubarb is good luck. But
Eric's fiancée Polly seems to be allergic to cats, and the team's
success may mean new hazards for Rhubarb.
The River (1951)
Artsy crapsy warning. Three teenage girls are living in Bengali (India)
near a big river: Harriet is the oldest child of a big family of English
settlers. Valerie is the unique daughter of an American industrialist.
Melanie has an American father and an Indian mother. One day, a man
arrives. He will be the first love of the three girls. The director Jean
Renoir is the son of the French Impressionist Painter Pierre Auguste
Renoir ( the cinematographer Claude Renoir is Jean's nephew ) and the
family talent shines throughout this film, which is beautifully shot.
Whether showing the amazing landscape of India and the river itself, the
colours and intricacies of the many Indian festivals, or even a close up
of Valerie's face as she gazes at Captain John, every frame displays
grace, beauty and style that film rarely captures.
Scrooge (1951)
My favorite version of the classic, starring Alistair Sim. Miserly
Ebenezer Scrooge learns the error of his ways through the intervention
of the ghost of his former partner and of three spirits in this faithful
adaptation of the Dickens classic.
The Strange Door (1951)
Noble-born cad Dennis has been tricked into a forced stay at the eerie
manor of the Sire de Maletroit (Charles Laughton), an evil madman who
can't get over the death of his beloved, twenty years after she married
his brother (Cavanagh) instead and subsequently passed away during
childbirth. Maletroit is determined to have his revenge: the brother has
been stowed away in the dungeon for two decades, while he's convinced
his disreputable house guest will make a suitably hellish husband for
his niece. As luck would have it, the young couple manage to fall in
love, and with the help of manservant Voltan (Karloff), they try to make
their escape, but not before a final confrontation with Maletroit in the
dungeon's crushing deathtrap.
Superman and the Mole-Men (1951)
Reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane arrive in the small town of Silsby to
witness the drilling of the world's deepest oil well. The drill,
however, has penetrated the underground home of a race of small, furry
people who then come to the surface at night to look around. The fact
that they glow in the dark scares the townfolk, who form a mob, led by
the vicious Luke Benson, intent on killing the strange people. Only
Superman has a chance to prevent this tragedy.
Survival Under Atomic Attack (1951)
What starts out as another typical day in the life of the Mitchell
family turns into a nightmare when a nuclear bomb is dropped on New York
City, fifty miles from the Mitchell home. A horrifying story of the
aftermath of the nuclear attack unfolds in this gripping dramatisation.
This movie made during the time of Cold-War-paranoia of the 1950s –
providing the viewer with the disturbing vision of a nuclear holocaust –
would make a good double bill with the 1983 movie `The Day After'. Watch
out for a very young Walter Matthau!!!
The Thing from Another World (1951)
Actually, I always thought this was older. Producer Howard Hawks'
adaptation of the John Campbell story of an arctic expedition that runs
afoul of a blood sucking alien is often credited (or blamed - depending
on who you talk to) with launching the evil monster tries to destroy
humanity films that were so prevalent in the 1950's.
Tokyo File 212 (1951)
A Communist spy ring in Japan is hard at work trying to sabotage the
American war effort during the Korean War, using kidnapping, murder and
a disturbed former kamikaze pilot. A U.S. secret agent, posing as a
reporter, is dispatched to Tokyo to put a stop to these nefarious
activities. A B-Movie must. The lousy dialogue is compensated for by the
fact that a lot of key scenes are in Japanese - without subtitles.
Filmed entirely on location, it provides some interesting shots of post
WWII Japan and the cast includes real soldiers who were part of the
American occupation force. Francis Marly is great as a broadly sketched
femme fatale. A trivia buff's footnote: the producer was famous San
Francisco attorney Melvin Bell.
Two Lost Worlds (1951)
Maddened prehistoric monsters wage warfare to the death! When the
American clipper ship "The Queen" is attacked by pirates off the
Hebrides in 1830, Mate Kirk Hamilton is injured and must be put ashore
at Queensland Colony, Australia, for treatment and recuperation. There,
he meets and falls in love with Elaine Jeffries, daughter of the
magistrate and all-but-fiancée to rancher Martin Shannon. She also finds
herself attracted to Kirk, and a rivalry develops between the two men.
Meantime the pirates, led by Captain Hackett, decide to raid the colony
and, in the process kidnap Elaine and her friend, Nancy. Kirk and
Shannon lead the pursuit, having not only the romantic triangle to
resolve but the pirates to overcome and, along the way, being stranded
on a volcanic island inhabited by dinosaurs...
When Worlds Collide (1951)
A huge favorite. What would happen if a rogue planet flew into our solar
system and slammed into the Earth? That question is answered in this
classic sci-fi tale. An astronomer discovers an object that has just
entered the solar system. His calculations show him it's big and headed
straight for the Earth. The only problem is convincing the rest of the
world. This top notch sci-fi shows humanity at its best and worst.
Wild Women (1951) aka Bowanga Bowanga
Hilarious cheese. Big game hunters Kirby and Count Sparafucile are on a
safari in Africa, when they suddenly discover a battered white man who
stumbles out of the jungle only to collapse at their feet. After
reviving, the man, named Trent, tells them an old jungle legend about a
tribe of white warrior women living at the top of a nearby mountain. As
amazing as this seems, Trent claims to have actually seen these Amazons,
and wants Kirby and the Count to join him in returning to their village.
The pair agree to go along with him, but will they live to tell others
about what they find?
--
Ancient Egyptians slept on pillows made of stone. Not coincidentally,
the number one cause of death in ancient Egypt was pillow fights.
Lynn, Maurice and Cham
I have a pretty extensive collection of Abbott and Costello. This isn't
one of the better ones, but the special effects are pretty impressive
for the time. Boxer Tommy Nelson is accused of killing his manager.
While detectives Bud and Lou investigate they come across an
invisibility formula with which Tommy injects himself rather than face
the police. This sparks an idea for trapping gangster Morgan by having
Lou fight champ Rocky Hanlon, with Tommy's invisible help.
***I love all the A&C movies, but there are a few I haven't seen.
The African Queen (1951)
If you've never seen this, you've missed one of the greatest movies ever
made. At the start of World War 1, Charlie Allnut is using his old
steamer, The African Queen, to ferry supplies to villages in East
Africa. When the Rev. Samual Sayer dies, Charlie agrees to take Sayers'
sister, Rose, back to civilization. taking on the Germans at the same time.
***Yep, it's a classic. My parents made me watch this as a kid and I've
loved it ever since. I don't think it's even on dvd.
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Disney's version. Still brilliant. Alice becomes bored and her mind
starts to wander. She sees a white rabbit who appears to be in a hurry.
She chases it into its burrow and then a most bizarre series of
adventures begins.
***Well, I first saw this tripping on mushrooms and haven't been able to
watch it since, so this one is perminantly etched into my brain.
Chained for Life (1951)
This is soooooo bizarre and cheesy. A Siamese twin kills the husband who
left her. The courts have to decide if she is convicted of murder, how
can they punish her sister, who had nothing to do with the crime?
Starring real life siamese twins Violet and Daisy Hilton. It's not a
film you'd want to own, but one you should see at least once.
***In my que.
The Man from Planet X (1951)
It's weird. To study a rogue planet heading for a near-miss with Earth,
Prof. Elliot sets up an observatory on the foggy moors of a remote
Scottish island, with his pretty daughter and Dr. Mears, a former
student with a shady past. Soon after arrival of reporter John Lawrence,
a ship from Planet X just happens to land near the observatory. Is the
visitor (who actually looks alien) benevolent? What are Mears' real
motives for trying to communicate with it?
***I love this movie. I love the atmosphere and I love the alien. It scared
me as a kid.
The Thing from Another World (1951)
Actually, I always thought this was older. Producer Howard Hawks'
adaptation of the John Campbell story of an arctic expedition that runs
afoul of a blood sucking alien is often credited (or blamed - depending
on who you talk to) with launching the evil monster tries to destroy
humanity films that were so prevalent in the 1950's.
***Not one of my faves, but not bad. It always bored me as a kid. Now I see
it as kind of a statement on the Cold War.
When Worlds Collide (1951)
A huge favorite. What would happen if a rogue planet flew into our solar
system and slammed into the Earth? That question is answered in this
classic sci-fi tale. An astronomer discovers an object that has just
entered the solar system. His calculations show him it's big and headed
straight for the Earth. The only problem is convincing the rest of the
world. This top notch sci-fi shows humanity at its best and worst.
***A top fave of mine. Haven't seen it in ages.
***Cham